


Nightmares

by campanellis



Category: Battle Royale (2000), Battle Royale - All Media Types, Battle Royale - Takami Koushun
Genre: Angst, Based mostly on the book, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mild Gore, Set after The Program, Shuya has a nightmare and Noriko comforts him, Survivor Guilt, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:21:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29871819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/campanellis/pseuds/campanellis
Summary: Noriko comforts Shuya after he has a nightmare about The Program.
Relationships: Nakagawa Noriko/Nanahara Shuya
Kudos: 2





	Nightmares

The nightmares always started out the same way.

In his dream, he’d awaken thinking that the whole Program had just been some sort of twisted nightmare. He’d shoot up from his bed, take in his surroundings, and then get up to get ready for school. 

He’d rush to get ready, his thoughts a faint buzz in the back of his mind, the room around him blurry and unfocused. He’d never noticed it at the time, though. He’d just get ready for school, as if everything were normal. 

Then, every time he would finally make it through the door of his classroom, things would start to change. It would dawn on him that things weren’t really that normal at all. Shuya was trapped in his worst nightmare.

It really wasn’t too hard to figure out that something had gone horribly wrong. In fact, he’d immediately notice the dead bodies lining the classroom floor, every student slaughtered like cattle. 

Nobu, Mimura, Kawada. The list went on and on. His whole entire class, all of his friends, dead. 

And, God, there were _so_ many bodies. It was as if they were being used as some sort of twisted decoration. He could feel the bile rising into his throat right about then, despite not actually being awake. It was all just too _real._

Horribly, terrifyingly _real._ And the worst part hadn't even happened yet.

The worst part was Noriko.

Noriko. The girl that, even in his dream, Shuya knew that he had loved. It was a faint feeling, a whisper in the back of his mind that could barely be separated from the buzzing in his ears, but he knew that he loved her. He knew that she was all that he had. 

Or that she was all that he _once_ had. 

She was now staring at him with dead eyes. Her once gentle, beautiful features were mangled and bloodied, her mouth agape and her face lifeless. 

Upon further inspection, it seemed that she had been shot multiple times. Bullet wounds were scattered among her body, and her school uniform was seeping with her blood.

 _“_ No! This can't be possible! _”_ Shuya shrieked, the sound seeming to come from inside his own head as he sank to his knees, his body shaking violently. Memory upon memory began flashing through his mind, Nobu dying, the Program, promising to save Noriko, teaming up with Kawada, _escaping_. 

He had protected her, hadn’t he? 

So, why was she dead? How could she be? 

He must have failed. _Oh, god…_

“Nanahara.” Her voice made him jump, his heart pounding violently in his chest. Had she spoken? But _how?_ She was dead. 

Because of him… because—

“— _Shuya_.” She said firmly, demanding his attention. 

_“_ Look what you’ve done, you could have saved me. I trusted you, Shuya. This should have been you, it should have been **you**. I was in so much pain, Shu.” She continued, her voice bitter and angry, despite her mouth still remaining agape and unmoving. 

It was as if her voice, perfectly memorized, was clawing at the inside of his brain. He covered his ears, willing it away. _Please, please. Make it stop…_

But she wouldn’t, she continued on and on with her hurtful words. He must've deserved it, what had he done? Why couldn’t he remember?

“Noriko, I’m so sorry. I tried. I really tried! Oh, God. _”_ Despite the stench of blood, and the ungodly sight of her body, he found himself clinging to her. Sobbing, crying, _screaming_ as loud as he could.

She couldn’t be dead, she just couldn’t be. How was he supposed to go on alone? Why _should_ he? He should be dead too. 

His sobs raked through his body intensely until he felt a hand shaking him, a voice breaking through his thoughts. It was Noriko again, but this time, her voice was much clearer and kinder than it had been before.

“Shu… Shuya!” Shuya jumped up suddenly, gasping for breath and looking around frantically, unsure of where he was for a moment.

 _Oh_ . _It had been a dream._

Well, sort of. The program had really happened. And, yes. Most of his friends _were_ dead. But Noriko was still alive, and her hand was gently raking through his hair as she gave him a look of concern. 

She had clearly been woken up by his nightmare, or maybe she hadn’t been sleeping at all. It wasn’t uncommon for either of them to have sleepless nights, it didn’t matter that they were safe in America now. It was hard to feel safe enough to sleep.

“Nightmare…?” She asked quietly, squeezing his hand gently. She knew, she _understood_. She got them a lot too, it was almost inevitable after what they had been through. Shuya knew there was no use lying to her, and he didn’t really want to.

The only way for them to heal from this was to heal together, they had learned that very quickly. They had fought through every day with the other at their side ever since arriving in America.

It had been a long time since then. Noriko had managed to get a job at a local restaurant not too far from where they were staying, and Shuya had made some money playing his guitar in the street. It was a lot harder than he had expected, but he still managed.

And through all this, they were together. They still needed each other to survive, just like they had in The Program. 

“... Yeah, but I’m okay now. Don’t worry.” He managed a tight smile, hoping it was enough to soothe her worries a bit.

She moved to sit beside him on the small mattress, letting go of his hand as she did and remaining quiet a moment before finally speaking up again.

“Can I… can I lay with you? It might help you feel safer to have someone next to you.” She said, fidgeting with the hem of her nightshirt a bit. Despite how long they were together, just the two of them, she still seemed to have moments of nervousness around him.

He supposed most guys would be offended by the offer, ‘ _me, need a girl to keep me safe? Please.’_ But, Shuya didn’t mind. He _did_ feel safer around her, and he truly didn’t mind the comfort that she brought.

He quietly agreed, sliding over a bit to give her room. Noriko smiled at him, blushing a bit and curling up beside him before speaking again.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked, clearly referring to the nightmare. He took a deep, shaky breath, causing her to reach out for his hand again. 

He let her.

“It, well. The Program, of course. But— you. You were...dead.” Shuya said hesitantly, glancing up to her to see her reaction. He didn’t want to keep going if it would freak her out, but she seemed to be understanding enough. She nodded, clearly motioning for him to continue on.

“You were dead— I couldn’t save you. You said it was because of me. God, Noriko. It was so… it was _horrible_ .” His voice caught in his throat, causing him to let out a sob. He knew perhaps he was being _too_ vulnerable, but it wasn’t as if it was the first time she had seen him like this, or vice versa. 

Noriko’s eyes widened a bit, and she moved to push her other hand through his hair again in a soothing motion. 

“ _Oh._ Shu, I’m right here. We’re okay, and even if you hadn't been able to keep me safe, I wouldn’t have blamed you. I would’ve _never_ blamed you.” She assured, continuing to run her hand through his hair. 

Shuya knew this was true deep down. Noriko wasn't resentful, she wasn’t bitter or vengeful. The Noriko in his dream was nothing like her, and he knew that now. He knew _her._

She pulled him close, hushing him and rubbing his back gently. He knew she could probably feel his heart pounding inside his chest from how close they were to each other, but she didn’t seem to mind this much at all. 

She just held him.

“I’ve had similar nightmares. Except they are of _you_ dying, of course. I had wanted to protect you just as much, you know.” 

The admission should’ve shocked Shuya, but he supposed that it made sense. Kawada had even _said_ that they had to protect each other. Plus, Noriko had been his rock throughout the entire Program. She kept him sane and had made sure he hadn’t completely broken down. 

Noriko had saved him just as much as he had saved her. Her strength, her love, her loyalty. All of it had kept him from just completely giving up, or giving into the game. 

“You did keep me safe.” He said, looking into her gentle, kind eyes. He hoped that she knew how much he meant his words. He probably wouldn’t even be here without her. 

“And i’m not planning on changing that, okay? I’ll protect you. Even if it’s just from your dreams.” Noriko mumbled sleepily as she buried her head into his chest, clearly just as exhausted as he felt. 

“I’ll never stop protecting you, too. Just like Kawada said.” He whispered back to her, finally feeling safe enough to drift back into sleep with her clinging to his side. 

He had peaceful dreams the rest of the night. 


End file.
